Encyclopedia Titanica

Shipwrecked again!

Titanic passengers and crew that experienced shipwrecks either before or after the Titanic disaster.

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Numerous Titanic passengers. and crew experienced other shipping accidents at other times, or at least were reported to have.   In some cases, the sources are uncertain, or unreliable, and will be updated as new evidence comes to light.

We have not included the, probably, hundreds of Titanic crew that experienced the collision between RMS Olympic and HMS Hawke.

Passengers

Ramon Artagaveytia
In 1871 Ramon allegedly survived the fire and sinking of the America, close to the shore of Punta Espinillo, Uruguay.  However, so far no reliable source has been found to confirm the rumour.

Norman Campbell Chambers
Would allegedly survive a second accident at sea when the Vestris caught fire.  The claim is doubtful, however; he does not appear in the list of passengers printed in the New York Times on 28 November 1928.

Samuel Goldenberg
First-class Titanic survivor Samuel Goldenberg was a veteran of another shipwreck. When the ship he was travelling on, the paddle steamer Pas-de-Calais, rammed and sank the submarine Pluviôse, killing 27 submariners.  [The New York Herald (European Edition) (Paris, France), 18 June 1910, Les Victimes Du Pluviose.]

Lady Duff Gordon
According to the autobiography of her sister, Elinor Glyn, survived a shipwreck at the age of 11-12 with their mother, Mrs David Kennedy when sailing from the Jersey, Channel Island to England in about 1875.  Glyn did not identify the ship but the circumstances appear to match the accident which befell the paddle steamer Havre on 16 February 1875. [See: Elinor Glyn (1936) Romantic Adventure, Ivor Nicholson and Watson, London.]

Henry Sleeper Harper
Henry Sleeper Harper reportedly survived the sinking of an unidentified vessel.

"Ten years ago [i.e. c.1902] he had a narrow escape from shipwreck when a ship on which he was a passenger collided with an iceberg off Newfoundland." — St-Louis Post-Dispatch, Tuesday evening, April 16, 1912

Milton Clyde Long
In June 1911 Long was reportedly aboard the SS Spokane when she ran aground and was wrecked in Seymour Narrows, British Columbia.  [See The Springfield Daily Republican, 19 April 1912]

Harry Markland Molson
In 1904 was a passenger aboard the Richelieu & Ontario steamer Canada when it collided with the Black Diamond liner Cape Breton in the St. Lawrence River near Sorel.  His name does appear in a list of passengers published in The Gazette (Montreal), on 13 June 1904.   Allegedly also swam away from the sinking of the Scotsman in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1899, however, his name does not appear in the list of passengers published in The Gazette (Montreal) 29 Sept 1899.

Arthur Karl Olsen
Child survivor Artur (later Arthur) Olsen served in the US Navy in the 1920s and was allegedly aboard the cruiser USS Omaha when she lost both masts in a typhoon whilst en route to Honolulu, Hawaii. [No source confirming either the incident or Olsen's presence aboard has been found.]

Oscar Wilhelm Johansson
A seaman travelling in 3rd class reportedly survived another wreck shortly after surviving the Titanic, but which one is unclear, he may have made up the story to avoid joining the ship he was supposed to meet.

Edith Rosenbaum
In a 1970s article, Edith Rosenbaum (Russell) allegedly claimed that she had a premonition which caused her to cancel her passage on the General Chanzy which went down off Minorca killing 200 passengers. She also claimed to have intended to sail on the last voyage of the Lusitania

Wyckoff Vanderhoef
It was reported in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 16 April 1912) that he had survived a previous wreck, but the details are vague and may have been creative journalism.

Charles Duane Williams
Was reportedly aboard the Arizona with his father when it collided with an iceberg in 1879.  A Mr R. N. Williams and Mr. C. W. Williams do appear in a passenger list published in the New York Daily Herald on 10 November 1879.

Crew

Reginald Lomond Barker
In 1909 Barker was a purser aboard the RMS Republic when that vessel collided with the SS Florida and sank. [Belfast News-Letter, 9 February 1909, The Loss of the Republic]

David Blair (original 2nd officer)
Was navigating when HMS Oceanic grounded and was lost off Foula in the Shetland Islands in 1914.  Although found guilty at a court-martial, he received only a reprimand.

Court-Martial on Naval Officer.
The navigating officer of H.M.S. Oceanic, Lieutenant David Blair, was found guilty by court-martial at Devonport yesterday of negligently stranding his ship.— Daily Mirror, 20 November 1914

Bernard Boughton
A first-class steward was reportedly aboard an unidentified ship that grounded on a voyage to New York via the West Indies. [See Kentish Express, 20 April 1912]

Edward Buley
Died aboard HMS Partridge (1917). [Memorial Register III Part VI 1917, Portsmouth Memorial]

William Clark
Survived sinking of Empress of Ireland. [See Luton Times and Advertiser, June 12, 1914]

James Crimmins
Survived the sinking of the Windsor Castle off Algeria, while she was operating as a troopship during World War 2 (23 March 1943).

Henry Samual Etches
May have survived the Britannic (1916)

Kate Gold
Stewardess Kate Gold experienced the grounding of the Suevic, and the Olympic-Hawke collision, prior to the Titanic.

Archie Jewell
Survived the sinking of the Britannic (1916) but died in the Donegal sinking (1917)

Charles Joughin
Survived further disasters to the USS Congress and USS Oregon.

John Edward Hart
Was serving aboard the St. Paul when she collided with HMS Gladiator in 1908.

Albert Horswill
Aboard the Royal Sovereign when, on 9 November 1901, one of her 6" guns exploded when the breech was not fully closed, killing an estimated 25 people aboard.

Walter Hurst
Family members believe Walter Hurst also survived the Britannic (1916), and a W. Hurst does appear on crew logs for that vessel.

Violet Jessop
Survived the sinking of the Britannic (1916)

Charles Herbert Lightoller
Survived the wreck of the Holt Hill (1889), Oceanic (1914) and Falcon (1918)

William Lucas
Survived the sinking of the destroyer HMS Derwent in 1917.

William Charles Lindsay
Surviving the sinking of HMS Morea when it was hit by a torpedo but suffered loss of hearing.

Leonard Lisle Oliver White
Survived, with his mother the sinking of the schooner Lismore, in which the captain, his father Robert White was lost.

William Chapman Peters
A quartermaster of this name survived the sinking the Britannic (1916), believed to be the Titanic seaman. Family thought he had also survived the Lusitania but they may have confused the two vessels.

Herbert Pitman
Was involved in another, unknown, shipwreck (which he described as a minor affair).

John Priest
Survived the sinking of the Britannic (1916) and the Donegal (1917). Coincidentally his brother Harry Priest also survived the Britannic.

Harold Prior
Survived the Southland wreck in 1915

Robert Pusey (1918)
Died aboard HMS Dirk.

Hugh Roberts (unconfirmed)
This may have been the Hugh Roberts, a bedroom steward, who was aboard the RMS Republic when that vessel collided with the SS Florida and sank. Roberts was responsible for the cabins located at the point of impact.

Mary Kezia Roberts
Survived the sinking of th Rohilla off the coast of Whitby.

Frederick William Scott
Killed in a boiler explosion while serving aboard the S.S. La Marguerite in 1915.

Kate Smith
As well as being aboard the Olympic when it collided with H.M.S. Hawke, Miss Smith was also aboard the St Paul when it collided with H.M.S. Gladiator off the Isle of Wight, resulting in the complete wreck of the Gladiator.

Christopher Arthur Shulver (1922)
Killed in a coal bunker explosion aboard the Adriatic.

Thomas Threlfall
Survived the wreck of the SS Arcadian.

George Terrill Thresher
Died on merchantman Parkhill, torpedoed, 1939.

Alfred Albert White
Survived the sinking of the troopship Aragon in 1917.

Harry Yearsley
Survived the sinking of the Braemar Castle which was torpedoed in the Mediterranean Sea in November 1916.

Comment and discuss

  1. Inger Sheil Inger Sheil
    I suspect Dan is mistaken - perhaps he was thinking of Pitman, who was involved in a shipwreck (which he described as a minor affair). I have a complete record of Lowe's ships from the time he joined the Titanic all the way back to a Welsh schooner so obscure it doesn't appear in Lloyds, although it turns up in port records. (The earliest vessel I can place him on predates the ships Lowe used as his usual record of service in official documentation - he only started logging his sea time in 1900). The collision I referred to above, although it did bring about young A.B. Harold Lowe's first experience with giving evidence at a BOT inquiry, resulted in only very minor damage to the ships involved. None of these pre-Titanic ships sank, and Lowe's son had no such recollection of his father being involved in any major shipping incident before the Titanic came along.
  2. Fiona Nitschke Fiona Nitschke
    [indent][quote]quote:No clue, actually, just relaying what I was told by Dan Butler some four or five years back. Only heard that it had happened, not details. He'd be the one to ask in such case.[/quote] LOL! Maybe he heard it from the delightful Ms Russell? ;) She's such a card and seemingly not too hung up on spoiling a good story with a few facts. Thanks for clearing up her shipwreck record, Brian. I've heard extracts of an interview with her where she's mentioned 'every disaster except the plague and a husband'. From what I'd read/heard I really thought there was another shipwreck (or three) in the mix, so it's good to know for sure. Again, I curse the person who decided her memoirs would be of no interest... Not passengers, but there were a few other ex-Titanic men on Oceanic other than Lightoller and Blair, from what I've read. On the other hand, I'm scrabbling for names so could be completely wrong - Inger? Someone? Others from Titanic's crew survived other 'wrecks' - battles and sinkings - in WWI. Sadly, some didn't too, including one man on whom I'm hoping to put a considerably expanded ET biog note sometime. Suppose they still had another three or so years than most of their colleagues.
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  3. Randy Bryan Bigham Randy Bryan Bigham
    Roger, Thank you for looking into that story. I will be much appreciative for any information you might turn up. Randy
  4. Lianne Christian Lianne Christian
    Andrew, Re: Violet Jessop... you probably already know this but this remarkable lady was also working on the Olympic when she collided with (I think) The Hawke, although I know neither ship was actually wrecked. Anyway, she was on all three of these fabulous ships during their times of high drama.
  5. Emilie Forest Emilie Forest
    To add to the information, Henry Sleeper Harper survived the sinking of a vessel. I read in the :St-Louis Post-Dispatch, Tuesday evening, April 16, 1912 { I have a copy} : "Ten years ago {so in 1902}he had a narrow escape from shipwreck when a ship on which he was a passenger collided with an iceberg off New-Foundland."
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Encyclopedia Titanica (2017) Shipwrecked again! (Titanica!, ref: #20182, published 19 September 2017, generated 3rd December 2024 09:10:39 AM); URL : https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/shipwrecked-again.html